1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Final “Throne Room” Wall Panel

With the galley floors and forward fuel tank squared away, I was finally able to move my track saw to the galley and re-stack the plywood from the starboard side of the salon to the port side, so I could get to the 3/4″ mahogany panel I’ll use as the last wall panel for the V-berth head (AKA the Throne Room).

Move stack, take partial sheet from bottom, move stack back

What a tedious chore that was.

Eventually, a perfect fit

It turns out that the contractor who installed the main V-berth head wall, who described himself as “good but slow,” was certainly slow but not very good. He installed the panel out of square to the floor, and he cut the leading edge so it’s out of square, too. I already knew that from when I installed the corner piece on the panel. But I was reminded of it when I was doing the final fitting of this wall piece. If everything is 90° to everything else, putting panels together is a breeze. But up here, nothing is perpendicular, so it takes a lot more time to get the fit right on the top and bottom. But eventually, I got the panel in, it fits well, and the aft edge is perpendicular to the floor and the overhead panel.

Pocket screws secure the base

Good fit at the top

Using my track saw to rip the solid mahogany door frame

It’s difficult cutting very narrow pieces of wood with the standard track saw clamps, so I used some aluminum plate scraps to extend the clamp edge.

Done!

Final fit…looks good!

It’s looking like the plan

Next, I need my Boatamalan* painter to spray the new panels with ICA base coat, then I’ll glue and screw them in. While that’s happening, I’ll get the ceiling panels done.

* Boatamalan: portmanteau indicating highly skilled boat workers of Central American origin. They’re actually from Honduras, but Boatamalan rolls off the tongue better.

Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: “Throne Room” Ceiling Panels II